Auckland Festival of Quilts 2016

From 2 until 6 November I was in New Zealand, as I was asked to be one of the judges at the Auckland Festival of Quilts 2016. My fellow judges were Chris Kenna and Marion Manson.



The three of us were unanimous in our decision to award Best of Show to this quilt, No Entry by Norma Slabbert:



We were very impressed by the strong, original design and the impeccable hand and machine quilting in this piece:



This is my Judge's Choice: Frida No.2 by Ngaire Fleming:



I also loved the other judges' choices. This is Chris Kenna's: Watermark by Alison Laurence:



And Marion Manson's: Blue Illusion by Cheryl Houston:



There were lots and lots of fabulous quilts, and the prize winners should be up on the website of the Auckland Quilt Guild soon. I'll just show one more - a quilt made for the Guild Challenge 'Gone to Pieces', Visa. Mastercard by Jo Hollings. It won the award for Most Quirky Quilt. I love it!



The judges were asked to bring a few small samples of their own work - here is my judge's exhibit:



I had one day to do some sightseeing in Auckland and enjoyed wandering around with my camera. Here I've caught the reflection of the Sky Tower in the windows of an office building:



I also spotted some street art - one of my favourite subjects to photograph. More pics of Auckland can be found on my photo blog.



I had a wonderful time in Auckland - it was lovely to be away from all the moving stress for a little while. Many thanks to the Auckland Quilt Guild for inviting me, and especially to my wonderful hosts Chris and Terry for providing a home away from home!